


Dreams Can Come True

by WitchQueenLil



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: All characters at least mentioned, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Marijuana, Recreational Drug Use, forward female player
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-03-07 22:23:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13444638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchQueenLil/pseuds/WitchQueenLil
Summary: She finally got the life she's always wanted but not the way she wanted it. She takes over the old farm she's always loved and finds new love in the process.





	1. How My New Life Began

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. This is the first chapter of my first ever Stardew fic. Please review and give me all feedback. Thank you!

    An alarm clock blares as she sits up slamming at the infernal machine to quiet. She throws her long (at least compared to her height) legs off the edge of the bed. Damn Monday. She hoists herself up and half drags herself to the bathroom, she’s usually a morning person but 5 o’clock is too early to get up so she can be ready to sit behind a desk all day. Her mind drifts to the farm her grandfather has in that little town. She misses visiting him, she hasn’t seen him in four years and he was barely keeping up with his meager crops then. _I should have stayed to help him; I always wanted to have a rural life anyway. Maybe I should go back…_ She snorts to herself knowing that as much as she would love it she wouldn’t have the confidence in herself to leave her job and give up the steady paycheck.

  
    She showers away her drowsiness under the hot water then turns the water to cold and rinses her face. She towels her wet black hair and then her pale skin before she dresses for work in her light gray pencil skirt suit with a deep purple dress shirt. She stands in front of the bathroom mirror to put on some light, natural-looking make up. A light dusting of blush to give color to her tired face. A light brown eyeshadow so her blue-gray eyes pop. She follows up with mascara to add length to her already fairly long eyelashes, then adds a just pink enough gloss to her lips. She stares at her face for a moment, her eyes taking in her nose; a half-hearted smile as the slight upturn of her nose reminds her of her father. She breaks the stare and heads to the kitchen, brushing her wavy hair on the way. She grabs a strawberry yogurt and a peanut butter-chocolate chip granola bar to eat on her walk to work. She slips on her nude heels then heads to her apartment building elevator. She uses her granola bar to scoop her yogurt as she walks two blocks south of her building then three blocks west on 12th St to her office building. Having finished her granola bar, she throws away her yogurt container in the lobby trash can before getting on the elevator to ride up to her tiny cubicle on the 22nd floor.

    She walks past her co-workers already typing away on their computers or tiredly sipping on their dark life-blood of caffeine. She makes it into her cubicle and sits at her desk. She begins to work on her menial task of transferring records to the computer database. Halfway through her third form mail-call happens and an important, very official looking envelope is haphazardly thrown on her desk as the bored looking serviceman continues his steady pace down the rows. She finishes her form and turns to the mail delivered. The return address is in Pelican Town from the town mayor. She opens the envelope her curiosity piqued, brow furrowed. The first paper to meet her fingers is pulled out and scanned.

    _Condolences… doctor… grandfather… deceased… will… farm… earliest convenience…_

  
    She slows down, not wanting to believe what she’s reading.

Dear Lilianna,

    My deepest condolences, it is my duty to inform you that the doctor was called to your grandfather’s farm where they found him delirious and requesting you take a letter though you were obviously not present. Doctor Harvey tried his best to administer treatments but your grandfather was pronounced deceased.

    In your grandfather’s will, he named you as the successor to his farm. I have enclosed the letter he was attempting to give you in his delirious state. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to determine what shall be done with the farm.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Signed with my sincerest regret,  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mayor Lewis  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Pelican Town, Stardew Valley

    Her heart breaks with a sharp pain in her chest and tears roll down her cheeks as she shoves her hand into the envelope to pull out the letter. She feels a rough wax seal as she pulls the letter out. She carefully pulls the midnight blue, cow face seal free of the lower part of the envelope unwilling to risk it cracking. She pulls the parchment free of the envelope and with teary eyes reads her beloved grandfather’s messy scrawl.

Dear Lili,

    If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of change.

    She huffs a laugh through her tears, even from beyond the grave he knows her better than she knows herself.

    The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So, I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.

    I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Darkwood Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, just north of Cindersap Forest. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.

    This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my dear.

    Good luck.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Love,  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Grandpa

    P.S. If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?

 

    Geez, how old is this letter that he would write this? How much longer did he think he would live? When did he intend to give this to me? When did he expect me to open it? Question after question sifts through her mind before her eyes widen at the realization that she can finally leave this hellhole of a city and live the life she always wanted.

    She stands up slowly and steps out of her cramped cubicle. She looks down the narrow aisle at the door to her supervisor’s office. Before she realizes it, she’s running for the door, feeling more alive than she has since she last visited her grandfather.  
Her knuckles rap on the door and a dull voice calls a half-hearted, “Come in.”

    The surprise on his face is the most genuine emotion she’s ever seen him show as she steps in. She takes a deep breath and says as confidently as she can muster. “I’m giving my two weeks, sir.”

    His dull eyes seem a little duller after she says that but she can’t let that get to her, his voice asks in a tone that might sound sad if it wasn’t so droning, “May I ask why?”

    That causes her to stutter slightly, “M-my grandfather passed away and left me the deed to his property. I’m moving away.”

    Her supervisor nods with an understanding but bored look on his face. He makes a note on his calendar and her return to her cubicle shows a spring in her step as she gets back to work.

    At lunch, she takes a sheet of paper, an envelope, and pen as she heads to the nearby pizza parlor and writes a letter to Lewis to tell him that she’ll be there in two weeks to take over the farm. She munches on her personal, cheese pizza careful not to make a mess on her letter. She wipes the grease from her fingers before folding the letter and stuffing it into the envelope. She pulls her stamp book out and places a single stamp on the envelope before addressing it and slipping both into her purse. She finishes the cheese-stuffed crust of her pizza before heading out. On the way back to the office, she drops her envelope in a P.O. box.

    The rest of the day passes without incident and her arrival at her apartment is early enough to let her super know this will be her last month. She makes a simple canned soup dinner before getting ready for bed.

    Her last two weeks pass by easily as she corresponds with Mayor Lewis and the carpenter named Robin who has been making sure the house stays in good repair since Grandpa’s passing. She packs her meager belongings into a small moving truck and pays the driver to assure everything arrives the same day she does.

    Finally, it’s the day she has been looking forward to, the day she is moving to the farm that she loves so much. It’s the first day of spring and that just seems to sum up how she’s feeling. She boards the bus to Stardew Valley taking the empty seat in the middle of the bus. Her's is the third stop on this bus route. To pass the time she pulls out an old leather-bound notebook and writes as many things as she can remember about helping her grandpa on the farm.


	2. Pelican Town

    I look up from my notebook just in time to see a sign whiz by that says “Stardew Valley 0.5 miles”.

    _Home… home is close._  I pack my notebook away just as the bus slows to a stop. I pick up a small cooler and step off the bus. I see Robin with her redhead ponytail shining in the sun. She has a small nose and somewhat thin lips. Her eyes are green, an unfinished emerald green, not shined or smoothed, the natural rough green. She wears olive green denim jeans and a well-worn yellow t-shirt with a thin, beige jacket tied around her waist. I hug her and smile, “Thank you for taking care of Grandpa’s house for me.” Tears well up at the corners of my eyes at the thought of my grandpa being gone and the kindness I’ve already received.

    “It’s no problem; I couldn’t have my new neighbor staying in a dusty run-down house. Let’s go I can show you the house and you can see Lewis. I have to warn you though the house is a little… well, little.”

    I turn back toward the bus and open up the luggage compartment, pulling out my large suitcase, I turn back to Robin and nod. "Lead the way."

    We walk the short distance to Darkwood farm and as we break through the tree-line I see just how much more has grown up since I was last here. My heart breaks a little more and I resolve to bring his… MY… farm back to success.

    “Here’s Darkwood, it’s overgrown but a little hard work and care and this place will be in tip-top shape,” Robin's voice rings clearly through the nearly flat farmland.

    I hear the door creak open and turn to see an older, gray-haired man with a large nose and small, warm eyes step out. He wears a deep green shirt, a bright yellow tie (just shy of golden), and brown suspenders matching his hat and pants. His face brightens, “Ah there you are Lilianna. I haven’t seen you in four years but you haven’t changed much. Everyone’s asking after you, no one’s quite sure what to make of you since your visits were spent here and not in town. You should take some time to walk around and visit the townsfolk when you can, maybe stall the rumor mill if you do it soon.”

    I look at the old house and my mind drifts back to happier times of looking after grandpa’s chickens and climbing fruit trees to steal a sweet snack. Movement catches my eye shaking me out of my reverie as I see Robin and Lewis waving and leaving for town. I wave back and step up onto the porch and look at my new land. _Trees, grass, weeds, rocks, fallen branches, so much stuff, everywhere…_ I look up at the sky… _There’s still a few hours left in the day…_ I step inside and see a variety of tools lying on a table near the door. I pick up the sickle and the ax and carry them outside.

    The ax gets leaned up against the porch and I take the sickle to the weeds cleaning up a good-sized patch in front of my house to use for planting. When I have a good deal of weeds cleaned up and a good deal of fibrous grass collected, I switch the sickle out for the ax and chop up a few branches before I gather them up and start filling up the empty area where grandpa stored his wood. I see dusk approaching and take my tools inside. As I sit my tools on the table, I hear the tell-tale sound of a truck on dirt. I walk back outside and quickly open the back of the truck. I pull out the largest of my boxes and take it inside immediately. I move the three medium boxes, another larger box, and four smaller boxes. I dismiss the driver with a smile and wave. I step into my home as he pulls away.

    I begin my nightly rituals. I pull a small metal tub out from under the bed where I knew Grandpa kept it and take it outside to fill up with water. After I bring it back in, I take some of the water out and heat it up over a small fire. I pour it back into the tub and take a wash rag and scrub myself down as best I can. I leave the tub of water near the fireplace and make myself a sandwich for dinner.

    I pull my pocket knife out and flip it open. I cut open each box before starting to unpack. I pull out two sizeable plants and set them on either side of the fireplace so they stay warm. I set the box aside and open the medium box. I cut down the right side of the box, with a little bit of maneuvering my mini-fridge is set in place. I unbox my other large box, pulling out three pieces of disassembled furniture: a bookshelf, a clothing rack, and a desk. I start with the bookshelf, putting it together quickly, I set it up between the TV and the door. I screw together the pieces of the clothing rack and set it up between the bed and the door. I move the small table toward the center of the house and set my desk up where the table once stood.

    Satisfied with the placement, I open up my four small boxes. I carry my box of books over the bookshelf, my box of clothes, as well as the suitcase I had carried with me, are set under my clothing rack, my box of food and cooler are set on top of my fridge, and my box of office supplies I place on my desk. I yawn and stretch. 'Time for bed, I'll finish unpacking tomorrow.'

    I nearly collapse onto my bed and snuggle myself under the blanket. As I fall asleep all I can think about is how happy I am to be here.


	3. The First Full Day

    I wake up to the sun filtering in through the window and sit up to stretch. _Today will be a great day._ I feel a smile tug at my lips as I toss my legs off of the bed and stand up. I open my backpack and set my notebook on the table as I walk by. I unpack the few things I have in my bag and dress myself in some knee-length, dark jean shorts and a loose fitting black T-shirt with a video game design printed on the front. I slip on my black boots and start to leave when my foot hits something and it skids across the floor. I look down and see a neatly wrapped, brown paper package. I step over to it and lift it up. Pulling the string binding loose, I notice the paper isn’t taped as it comes open easily revealing a couple packets of parsnip seeds. A note from Mayor Lewis is attached, “Here’s a little something to get you started. –Mayor Lewis”

    I add the packets to my backpack, grab my hoe and watering can and walk outside. The watering can is set down on the edge of the porch and I start tilling the ground. As soon as I step back to look at my handiwork, I smile and lean the hoe against the porch. I grab my seeds and plant half of them before going to fetch water. I return to my plants and water them well before leaving the watering can on my porch and going off to meet the townsfolk.

    _Where should I go first… I could go see Robin or Mayor Lewis… I could go to the general store and look into getting more seeds… I could go foraging… So much to do… Screw it I’ll go see Robin._ I turn towards town and start walking. I pull out the little town map that was left pinned to my grandpa’s wall, alongside an old picture of he and I from when I was only seven, and trace the path to Robin’s before putting it back in my bag. I head straight through the town square and notice that I’m walking past the general store so I stop in to go ahead and grab some seeds.

    The store owner is behind the counter when I enter, scribbling furiously in a ledger of some sort. _Must be for the business._ His brow is furrowed and there’s a slight pout to his lips. I browse the shelves before grabbing packets of each kind of seed I can find as well as a ledger to keep tabs on my farm. I step up to the counter and place my items in a row for him to see. He finally notices me and blushes a bit at his lack of attentiveness.

    “Good morning. Welcome to Pierre’s. I’m Pierre, will this be all?” he asks, trying to sound chipper.

    “Yes, thank you,” I reply with a smile.

    He tallies everything up, and makes notes in his ledger. “That will be… 475.” I hand him the vast majority of my money and am given a paper receipt torn from the ledger before I slide everything into my backpack.

    “Have a nice day, sir,” I turn and walk out of the store, resuming my trek west through town. I turn north on a small, stone path that quickly turns to dirt. Following the curve in the path, I glimpse the blue roof and make a beeline for it.

    The full house comes into view and I smile to myself. _Robin has such a lovely house._

    I rap my knuckles against the sturdy door and hear a clear, “Come in!”

    I smile as I walk in. Her hair is pulled into a high, tight ponytail again and Robin is beaming brightly as I close the door behind me. _I should put my hair up too… I hate it but it will probably be useful._ “Hi, Robin. How’s it going?” I say before leaning forward and gathering my hair into my right hand.

    “Oh, just great. Hope you’re having an easy time getting used to the farm and all,” Robin’s cheerful voice was easy to hear even around my thick hair. I start wrapping the holder around the bunch I’d created.

    A soft click was heard and the thumps of boots on stairs grew as someone approached the shop front.

    Robin turns and booms excitedly, “Oh, Sebastian! Come say hello! This is the new farmer, Lilianna. She just got to town yesterday.”

    I stand up-right as Sebastian steps around the corner into the shop and raises his hand in silent greeting. His face is like those of the old soul-sucked coworkers I left behind in ZuZu. _I thought I would have left behind those kinds of faces when I came to such a place._

    I wave back in greeting before straightening my ponytail. _He’s kind of cute…_ My lips pull into a smirk as I give him a once over. Then a faint smell hits my nose and I can tell by his look that he knows I smell it and I know what it is. He takes two steps back and turns to disappear into the rest of the house.

    I turn back to Robin and immediately ask, “What can you tell me about him?”

    She studies me for a moment, “How serious are you about staying here?”

    “I had literally been thinking about how much I wanted to take over the farm the morning I found out that the farm was mine. I’m not leaving for anything,” I vow.

    The conspiratorial look on her face is enough to make me suspicious. “Perfect.” She smiles wide before giving me a run-down of everything she deems important. Birthday, favorite foods, things he’s been looking for, interests (at least those she knew of), and people to get more information from (apparently the best source of information would be someone named Sam), and things to avoid bringing up.

    Robin finishes just in time for me to walk out of the house at the same time as Sebastian. _She’s already far more invested in this than I thought._

    I pull the door closed behind us and follow his path to the lake shore. As soon as we breach the back of the house, I ask him smoothly, “You just smoke or do you grow some too?”

    His step falters before he resumes his pace. “I’ve got a couple plants here and there.”

    “Where’s the best place to set up so I don’t step on your toes?”

    A pause as he stops on the shore. “Why not just grow on your farm? Not like anyone will tell you what to do with your land.”

    “I’d like to keep things separate for when I get animals.”

    He smirks slightly, “That confident you’ll make it out here?” His face at that moment triggers a memory from one of her summers spent out here.

 

    A little girl skips through town holding hands with her grandpa as they go to the general store to get her some candy. It’s drizzling as they hide under their umbrella. Upon reaching the general store, a little boy with raven hair walks out of the store with his redheaded mother. She barely sees the sweet smile on his face as he looks out at the rain before noticing her and the older man and hiding shyly behind his mother. She waves a hello before walking off to get back home quickly.

    “Who were they, grandpa?” she asks quietly.

    “I’m not sure, dear. I don’t get to come to town often. They moved here about two or three years ago. She just married a man last year if what I heard from Lewis is right. He’s an old gossip. The store door is pushed open and the little girl hurries off to find her favorite treat, questions all but forgotten.

 

    As I come back to the present I see the weird look on his face and blush. “Sorry, for, uh, staring. I just, um, I think you look familiar.”

    He shrugs and turns back to his half-smoked joint before taking a hit and offering it to me.

    I smile and take a few short pulls before passing it back. I hold it for a few seconds before letting it out. “Thanks. My plants won’t be ready for at least another week. So, I’m rationing out what I have until then, I only have enough to have a bowl a night.”

    He nods quietly as he holds his hit while holding out the joint to me. I pull a single, deeper hit and pass it back. “That’s really good. Your own strain?”

    He nods again and we continue passing the joint in silence before it’s snubbed out.

    “When my bud is ready, you’re welcome to come over and smoke with me,” I offer casually before starting to walk back towards town to get home.

    “Hey!” he calls out to me. I stop and turn toward him. He jerks his chin towards the mountain and says, “Follow me.”

    I walk with him as he leads me along a mountain path. We talk about smoking and growing. We exchange ideas and then we break through the tree line and I see the vast farmland including a river that runs through it.

    “Thanks for walking me home.” I smile at him. “It was nice getting to talk to you. You’re really cool.”

    A blush creeps up his face at the praise. “Thanks. I, uh, better get going.” He turns and heads back the way we came.

    I grab my watering can and hoe then carry them into the house to sit with the rest of my tools. I set about my nightly routine of getting cleaned up. As I dry off my face there’s a knock at the door which I open to find Mayor Lewis with a small to-go container of food.

    “Hello, Lilianna. I saw you passing through town today and I see you planted the parsnip seeds I left for you.” He smiles before continuing, “I hope the day wasn’t too hard on you.”

    “Oh, no, Lewis. The day was just fine. I’m letting myself adjust to the work slowly so I don’t burn out. Did you bring this for me?” I ask, gesturing towards the to-go container.

    “Indeed, I did. I figured with the lack of kitchen and you being new, you would need something to supply you with energy. Bringing you food seemed like something that could help you out,” he replies with mustache covered smile.

    I beam. “Thank you, Lewis. I really appreciate this.”

    “Anything to help keep this old farm going. It’s been here almost as long as the town has. I’d hate to see it get swallowed up by the forest,” Lewis says with an almost sad look to his face. He glances back at the property and heaves a sigh before looking at me with pleading in his eyes. “I hope you get this farm back up on its feet soon. I’d love to see orchards and rows of crops again.”

    “I hope so, too, Lewis. I hope so, too,” I say, feeling wistful. He hands me the food and begins walking back to town. I close the door while turning around to return to my nightly routine. I set the container on the table and turn to change into some comfortable sleeping clothes. A pair of short shorts and a t-shirt are my choice of pajamas.

    I sit on my little stool and open the food container to find two slices of pepperoni pizza and a bottle of apple juice. I scarf down my food before I pull out my “one-hitter” (I easily pull as many as ten hits from this little pocket pipe). I pack my bowl and pull out my lighter. I sit the pipe between my lips and strike the lighter. I take a pull, hold, and exhale. Ah, this is nice. Another pull, hold, exhale.

    I hit the point that I start feeling tired. I put away my one-hitter in my nightstand drawer and lay down. My head's on my pillow and as I doze off, I think about Sebastian and his cute blush.


	4. Making New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilianna makes an unexpected friend and finds out more about Sebastian.

            The sun rises, as do I.  I sit up and stretch out my back, then my legs.  I grab my hairbrush and run it through my loose, black waves.  I pull my hair up and stand to ready myself for the day.  I pull off my t-shirt and slip on a lavender cami and a loose, button-up purple flannel.  My short shorts come off and are replaced with faded, ripped blue jeans.

            There’s a knock on the door.  _I wonder who that is…_

            I walk over and pull the door halfway open.  I see a larger woman in a forest green dress worn over a deep red sweater.  Her hair is a lighter shade of woody brown and pulled into a thick, loose braid. Her bangs are just a bit too long judging from the curled ends and her brushing them to the side with one hand. Then, I notice a fluffy, black cat standing on her shoulder, tail curled around her neck. “Good morning,” I say as I look at the cat wishing I could pet it.

            “Good morning,” she says in a slightly deep but feminine voice. “My name is Marnie.  I run the ranch to the south of here.  I found this cat on the path looking into your farm.  I think she’d like to live here.” The black furball suddenly jumps off Marnie’s shoulder and darts into my house.

            “Well… I guess she lives here now.”  I chuckle as I turn and see the cat playing with a bunched-up sock on the floor.

            “She’s such a precious thing, any idea what you’ll call her?” Marnie asks, her eyes crinkling as she smiles.

            I think for a moment, looking at the overgrown kitten. She swats the sock across the floor before bounding after it, almost as if she’s flying.  “I think I like the name Raven for her.”

            “Sounds perfect.  Goodbye, Raven.  You seem to have found a wonderful home,” Marnie calls out.  “I need to get back to my animals, but feel free to stop by and see them.  I’ll happily teach you anything you need to know.”

            “Thank you, Marnie.  I may need to take you up on that,” I say, grateful to have someone who can teach me things that Grandpa didn’t get to.

            She waves as she turns to head back through the fields toward her ranch.

            I close the door and turn to my plants near the fireplace.  I water each of them then, find two bowls for Raven.  I fill one with water and place it on the floor before pulling out a few things from my fridge; some grilled chicken, a carrot, and some dried peas.  I slice the carrot and cube the chicken. Dumping them into the bowl along with the peas, I set the bowl on the floor and hope Raven will appreciate the food.

            I grab my phone and slip it into my bag then grab my watering can and hoe before I walk outside.  I look over the land and see no topside progress from my plants.  I water what has already been sown then take the hoe to the ground to create new spots for the rest of my seeds.  I plant my purchased seeds before also watering them.  I set the watering can and hoe on the porch and head into town to meet some more of the townsfolk.

            I take out my notebook and pencil.  Opening it to the next clean page, I begin listing what I need to do today.  I finish my list and doodle in the margins a little, creating a chibi Sebastian.  I turn into the square and head south toward the beach.  I glance down at my notebook, adding a few details to the drawing when I hear, “Watch out!”  I tuck and roll successfully dodging whatever was coming at me but losing my notebook in the process.  It skids, ending up a few steps away, I jump up to get it but see a spiky-haired blonde guy pick it up.  He glances down at it, then looks at me, a confused look on his face.  “Who are you? And why is there a picture of my best friend drawn in your notebook?”

            My mind blanks as my face heats up.  I reach my hand for my notebook.  Then it suddenly hits me what he said, ‘ _my best friend_ ’. “Sam?”

            He looks even more confused and slightly freaked out though he hides it well. “Well, it looks like you have me at a disadvantage, stranger.”  He chuckles awkwardly.

            “Oh, geez, sorry.  I’m Lilianna, the new farmer.  I heard about you from Robin, she said you’d be the best person to ask about Sebastian—” I stop abruptly.  “Uh, um, well shit.  Guess the cat’s out of the bag on that one…”

            He looks at me with wide-eyed wonder.  “Wait, wait, wait… You moved to town like two days ago and not only have you met Seb but you also like him?”  His watch beeps at him.  “Shit, I’m gonna be late for work, walk and talk with me?”

            I nod my assent.  He picks up his skateboard that he had been riding and we begin walking back up through the town square.

            “Okay so?” he questions.

            “So what?” I question back then shrug.  “Yes, I moved in two days ago.  Yes, I’ve already met Seb.  Yes, I like him.  And before you ask, because I’m sure at some point you will, yes, I know he smokes pot.  I smoke too and no he didn’t tell me but he did smoke with me.  Any more questions?”

            He laughs, “I like you, I think you’ll be good for Seb.  He wants to move out of town though.  He swears he hates it here but, as his best friend, I think he just hates living under his stepdad’s thumb… Though good luck trying to get him to live on a farm.”

            I think about this for a moment then decide to go for a joke and gauge Sam’s reaction, “Yea but the promise of sex on a regular basis can tempt anybody.”

            He looks at me kinda wide-eyed for a moment before busting out laughing.  “That is a very true statement.  Seb, honestly, needs to get laid more.  I believe it would significantly improve his mood.  The pot helps but sex would help more.”

            We stop in front of a building and I look up to see the pure evil of Joja.  “Ew, you work here?  There’s one of these in town?  Ugh, I just can’t escape them.”

            Sam tilts his head in confusion, “You used to work for Joja?”  He hikes a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing at the store.

            “Yes, worst four years of my life.”  I nod emphatically.

            “Yeah, I could see that. So anyway, I’ll be off in like 6 hours if you wanna hang out and talk some more, I’ll tell you everything I know about Seb. And I’ll only pick on you about it when he’s not around.”

            “Deal.”  I stick my hand out toward him, which he shakes before disappearing into the store.  I turn around and head towards the beach again.

 

            I make it to the beach after a 20-minute walk and begin collecting seashells and pieces of coral which get placed in my bag.  After scouring the beach for an hour, I leave and forage in the woods for some vines and branches.  I run into a very quiet, young woman carrying a basket filled with flowers and spring onions.

            “Excuse me, do you have a way I could cure these vine tendrils?  I was planning on making a basket but I don’t have a way to get these to temperature.  I can make you one as well so you have an extra, in exchange for your help.”

            She’s quiet for a while before she slowly nods, “I have a camping-style range you can use.”

            “Thank you so much.  My fireplace would never be able to heat the water properly.”  We walk towards her cabin and she brings out a camp stove and a pot.  I take the pot from her and squat at the waters’ edge, filling it carefully before taking it back to the range.  We light the range and I place the vines and branches in the water to allow them to be heat-treated.

            We sit on the ground and the young woman pulls out a knife and partially carved wooden block.  She begins whittling the wooden block.  “My name is Leah.  I’m glad someone else around here appreciates that we can make what we need from nature.  The only other person here who lives close to nature is a man named Linus but he lives in the mountains.  We often trade with each other, I get fish from him and I give him tools I’ve made.

            “My name is Lilianna but you can call me Anna.  I learned how to make baskets from my grandma.  Before she passed away, she would make baskets for my grandpa to collect his produce in or for whatever he needed them for.  She passed away 10 years ago.  After that my grandpa wasn’t able to keep up with his land as easily.”

            Leah nods in understanding, her whittling continues.  The object is still mostly obscured but it seems to be an animal of some kind.

            “Would you teach me how to whittle one day?” I ask, quietly.

            She ponders this for a moment.  “Perhaps. You seem nice enough.”

            I check the time and look at the vines and branches in the water.  “It looks like they’re done.”  Leah puts out the fire on the range.  She gently pours the hot water over the fence beside her house.

            “They’re still hot, you should come by in an hour to get them, they should be cool by then,” Leah’s voice is quiet but friendly as she speaks.

            “Thank you, Leah. I’ll be coming this way to get back home so I’ll stop by in about an hour.”  I smile at her and wave as I dash off to meet Sam.

 

            I make it to Joja just as Sam walks out.  “Perfect timing, buddy,” his voice booms after the quiet time with Leah.

            “Hey, Sam.” I beam and fall into step beside him. “I figured we could hang out at my house and we can smoke and talk.  We might want to let your family know first though.”

            He shrugs, “Sure, sounds fine to me.  Mom might force us to eat first though, especially since you’re new in town.”

            “That’s fine with me.” I laugh and we walk toward and through the town square.

            Sam opens the door to the second house and calls, “Mom! I’m home and I brought a friend!”

            A sweet, feminine voice calls back, “I’m in the kitchen! I take it since you said ‘friend’, it’s not Sebastian or Abigail.  Who is it?”

            I follow Sam into the house and then the kitchen.

            “This is Lilianna,” he gestures to me with an over-the-top flourish, “She’s the new farmer.”

            “Oh, hi, Lilianna.  I’m Jodi.  How are you settling in?”

            “Just fine, it’s tiring work but it’s coming along great.  I just hope I’m not too sore from it all in the morning,” I half joke.

            “I hope you’re staying for dinner, we’re having tacos,” Jodi beams.

            “Sure, that sounds great.  Is it okay if Sam comes over to hang out after dinner?” I ask.

            Jodi laughs. “It’s fine with me, he’s old enough to make those decisions on his own, just keep him out of trouble.”  Jodi’s small egg-timer goes off.  “Who’s ready for tacos?”

 

            Sam and I head towards my farm through Cindersap Forest.

            As we pass Leah’s house, I stop.  “Wait here for a sec,” I tell Sam, then run around to the front of Leah’s house and knock on her door.  She opens the door after a few seconds with a bag in her hand.

            “Here you go, Anna,” she holds out the bag to me, “and you don’t have to worry about making me a basket.”

            “Thanks, Leah,” I take the bag, “And I want to.  I’ll bring it by when I finish it.”

            She nods, “Goodnight.”

            “Goodnight.” I turn and walk back over to Sam.

            He looks a bit stunned. “Wassup, Sam?”

            “You, uh, you talk to Leah? Leah talks to you?”

            “Yeah, we met while you were at work, she’s nice.” I grab Sam by the arm and pull him along the path.

            “You just met her today and she’s talking to you?  What are you?  Some kind of wizard?  First Seb, now Leah?  Are you some kind of quiet person whisperer?”

            “Shut up, Sam.  Come on, let’s go smoke.  It might mean less weed to last until my plants start to bud but it’ll be nice sit and chill with someone while I smoke.”

            He begins walking again as we step into my fields.  We walk up through the tall grass and past my crops before making it to my porch.

            I turn to him, “You’re not allergic to cats, right?”

            “Uh, no.”

            “Ok, cool,” I push the door open, “welcome to my home.”

            We walk in and I pull over the chair from the table and sit on my bed.  I take out a small tray and start rolling a joint.  I look up and Sam is standing in the middle of the floor, looking around.  “You gonna stand there the whole time or you wanna sit down?” I tease and nod to the chair as I lift the joint to my mouth, licking it to seal the loose edge against the rolled part.  I use my lighter to dry it before putting one end in my mouth and pulling while I light the end.

            Sam sits in the chair and I take two pulls before passing it.  He pulls a couple times and passes it back.  “Alright, so what can you tell me about Seb?” I ask, taking my two hits.

            He takes the joint, pulls once and coughs. “Obviously he lives with his stepdad. He doesn’t like talking about his dad.” Another pull and pass. “He used to be really close with his sister, Maru.  That stopped once Maru took an interest in science and became Demetrius’s favorite.  I know he still cares about her but he’s letting Demetrius effect his view of her and it’s not fair for either of them.”

            I make mental notes on the family situation as I take my two hits and pass again. “What else can you tell me?”

            He thinks a moment, taking the opportunity to take his hits and keep our mini-rotation going. “He’s into Cave Saga, Solarion Chronicles, computers, and he listens to just about anything when it comes to music, but no country and nothing religious sounding. Oh, and he’s a computer programmer.  He does coding and nerdy shit like that.” A pause as he puffs. “And he and I are trying to start a band.  He’s on the synthesizer.”

            I nod, cataloging the information as I inhale the smoke into my lungs.  It hits me really hard all of a sudden and I start giggling.  Sam snorts, “So you’re one of those types?”

            I giggle more and nod.  “No wonder you like Seb, when he gets really high he actually laughs a lot but he only lets himself get that high around people he trusts.”

            That makes me think about Sebastian and that cute blush and how I think he would look with a genuine smile.  I start blushing and giggling.

            Sam laughs. “You are such a school girl.”

            “I’m not usually like this, I think it’s him…” My eyes widen as I realize I just said that.  I clamp my hand over my mouth.

            “That’s gonna be so much fun to hold over you,” Sam smirks and taps his chin as if he’s thinking about something devious.

            “You can’t use this against me, I get way too honest when I’m high,” I blurt out.  “Damn it, I shouldn’t have invited you over.”

            His devious smirk turns into a Cheshire cat grin and I grab my pillow, burying my face in it.

            “Well, I guess I should go.” His voice singsongs and I groan into my pillow.  I flop back on my bed then hear the front door open and close.

            I toss the pillow back and get up to get ready for bed.  My nightly routine ends with me lying in bed thinking about how Sam could possibly use what he’s found out and if it could ever possibly work out in my favor.

            It doesn’t seem likely.


End file.
